Christy Ring Cup Final

Kildare 4-21 Derry 1-22

By Richard Commins at Croke Park

Kildare secured a record fifth Christy Ring Cup and their fourth in seven years as they beat Derry by eight points at Croke Park this afternoon.

Four goals at crucial stages put paid to any hopes of a comeback for a hard-working Derry side who have failed to win now in four visits to the final, three of those in the last four years.

Kildare looked the more powerful, athletic side from the start and Muiris Curtin’s goal after only three minutes put Derry under pressure from the word go and were it not for the Lilywhites’ profligacy in that early spell the Oak Leafers might have been dead and buried.

It was almost ten minutes before Derry had a shot at the posts from play, Darragh McGilligan pointing, but they got the bit between the teeth after that as Kildare continued to struggle to convert chances.

With John Mullan in sparkling form, scoring five points from play in the first half alone and finishing on six, and Cormac O’Doherty almost flawless from frees, Derry were only a point behind (1-7 to 0-9) by the 22nd minute.

But Jack Sheridan fired over four points to give Kildare some breathing room and three minutes from half-time, Derry full-back Mark Craig was adjudged to have fouled the towering James Burke and Sheridan made no mistake from the resultant penalty.

Kildare stretched the lead to eight but two points before the break kept Derry in range, going in 2-12 to 0-12 in arrears.

Derry came back from thirteen points behind to lose by just two against Meath in last year’s final, and they burst out of the blocks here again after the interval. Five points in succession, four of them from the masterful O’Doherty, had Brian Dowling’s Kildare side on the rack somewhat with their lead down to a point.

The nervy Lilywhites squandered a goal chance thanks to Simon Leacy’s overhit pass to Cian Boran, but they did stop the rot with two Sheridan frees before their third goal from David Qualter on 49 minutes saw them lead by six points and breathe a sigh of relief.

That took some of the sting out of it though Derry kept plugging away. Jack Cassidy was an impressive second half substitute for them, scoring two points, but afterwards manager Johnny McGarvey rued a hook on the impressive Mullan as he bore down on Paddy McKenna’s goal with eleven minutes left.

Kildare’s fourth goal sealed the win, two minutes from time. Sheridan’s point-blank shot was well parried by Derry ‘keeper Oisín O’Doherty but his Naas clubmate Burke was on hand to sweep home the rebound from the ground.

Derry kept pushing for a goal with a combination of Sheridan and goalkeeper Paddy McKenna saving a 20 metre free from O’Doherty before McKenna pushed a Richie Mullan drive out for a ’65.

The Ulster side did get their reward three minutes into injury when they were awarded a penalty and O’Doherty made no mistake to bring his tally to 1-11. McKenna, though, was equal again to another late Richie Mullan effort as Derry’s dream died for another year.

Scorers for Kildare: Jack Sheridan 1-9 (1-0 pen, 8fs), James Burke 1-2, David Qualter 1-1, Muiris Curtin 1-0, Cian Boran 0-3, Simon Leacy 0-2, Paul Dolan 0-1, Conan Boran 0-1, Cathal McCabe 0-1, Declan Flaherty 0-1.

Scorers for Derry: Cormac O’Doherty 1-11 (1-0 pen, 9fs), John Mullan 0-6, Jack Cassidy 0-2, Christy McNaughton 0-1, Darragh McGilligan 0-1, Richie Mullan 0-1.

Kildare: Paddy McKenna; Daniel O’Meara, Mark Grace, Cian Shanahan; Paul Dolan, Conan Boran, Rian Boran; Simon Leacy, Cathal McCabe; James Burke, Jack Sheridan, Daire Guerin; Muiris Curtin, Cian Boran, David Qualter.

Subs: James Dolan for Guerin 45, Declan Flaherty for Curtin 53, Harry Carroll for Shanahan 55, Cathal Dowling for McCabe 62, Mark Delaney for Burke 70+1.

Derry: Oisín O’Doherty; Paddy Kelly, Mark Craig, Niall Farren; Seán Cassidy, Richie Mullan, Meehaul McGrath; Callum O’Kane, Corey O’Reilly; Darragh McGilligan, Cormac O’Doherty, Cahal Murray; John Mullan, Christy McNaughton, Ruairí Ó Mianáin.

Subs: Jack Cassidy for O’Kane 40, Seán Francis Quinn for Farren 49, Seán Kelly for McNaughton 42, Dara Mooney for O’Reilly 61, James Friel for Murray 66.

Referee: Brian Keon (Galway).